Tank car cleaning apparatus



E. D. GRANT, JR 3,001,534

TANK CAR CLEANING APPARATUS Sept. 26, 1961 Filed Aug. 5, 1959 2Sheets-Sheet 1 FlG.l

INVENTOR.

Edward D. Gronr,Jr.

ATTYS.

Sept. 26, 1961 E. D. GRANT, JR

TANK CAR CLEANING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 5, 1959 FIG.2

INVENTOR. Edward D.Grclnr,Jr. BY I M 210 ATTYS,

This invention relates to cleaning apparatus and pertains, moreparticularly, to a cleaning assembly for use in conjunction with largetanks or containers such as, for example, railway tank cars.

It is imperative, in many instances, to thoroughly clean the inside ofrailway tank cars and to do so in an economical and feasible fashion.Consequently, the present invention is directed to this specific andparticular problem and the structure comprising this invention isparticularly well suited and adapted for this purpose.

Essentially, the present invention consists of a portable unit which isinserted into the tank car to be cleaned and includes a base plate whichtemporarily replaces the dome cover of the tank car and is held down bythe dome cover lugs. The base plate constitutes a support for the entireassemblage and which includes a member depending therefrom which extendsinto the interior of the tank car and which carries a rotating sprayhead assembly in such fashion as to permit the spray head to direct awater spray into all reaches and regions of the car while the apparatusis being operated.

A further object of this invention resides in the provision of mechanismof compact and eflicient design specifically adapted for use inconjunction with the cleaning of tank car interiors and for directingjets of water throughout and over the entire inside surface of such tankcars and which apparatus is easily positioned in operation and carriedabout from one car to the other and which is otherwise practical andefiicient and is economical in construction and operation.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a mechanismincluding a base plate adapted to replace the dome cover on a tank carand which mounts thereon apparatus for cleaning the inside of the tankcar including an elongate support member rigid therewith and dependingfrom the base plate and carrying at its lower end means for causingrotation of a spray nozzle assembly which is also caused to rotate at anaxis perpendicular thereto so that the spray nozzle will direct jets ofwater throughout and completely over the interior of the tank car.

A further object of this invention is toprovide an assembly inconformity with the preceding object, wherein the base plate also servesas a mount for a motor supplying the motive power for operating thespray head and causing it to rotate about the two axes specified.

With the above and other objects in View, the invention consists in theconstruction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafterfully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointedoutin the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changesin the form, proportions, and minor details of construction, within thescope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing from thespirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken through a portion of a tank carillustrating the invention mounted operatively in relation thereto;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section taken through the spray device and showingdetails of its internal. construction;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the lower end of the spray unit; and

:FIG. 4 is an enlarged horizontal section taken substantially along theplane of section line 4-4 in FIG. 1 and illustrating details of theswivel coupling.

ted States atent Referring at this time more particularly to FIG. 1, thereference numeral 10 indicates, in general, the body of a tank car ofentirely conventional construction and which includes the usual tower ordome 11 terminating at its upper end in a radial flange 12 and uponwhich the conventional dome cover normally rests, there being providedconventional clamping lugs for holding the dome cover sealingly in placewhen the tank car is in use.

The spray assembly, which is indicated generally by the referencecharacter 13, mounts upon the flange 12 and extends downwardly throughthe dome 11 into the interior of the tank car and is connected to asuitable source of water under pressure for impinging high velocity jetsof water against the interior of the tank car to thus wash the same.

As can be seen best in FIG. 2, the spray assembly consists essentiallyof a generally circular base plate 14 which is so constructed and of asize as to fit upon the dome and rest upon the flange 12 thereof and totemporarily replace the dome cover while the spray assembly is inoperation, and which base plate is securely anchored or held on the domeby the same means which normally holds the cover of the dome in place.FIG. 1 illustrates that a gasket 15 is interposed between the flange 12and the base plate 14 to eifect a seal while the spray assembly is inplace and in operation.

The base plate is provided with a central opening and on the undersidethereof is provided with a nut member 16 welded to the underside of thebase plate as indicated by the reference character 17, and which nutthreadedly receives the threaded upper end of an elongate tube 18, themajor portion of which depends below the base plate 14 substantially asis shown.

The threaded upper end 19 of the tube 18 extends completely through thebase plate and projects somewhat thereabove and has its upper extremitysurrounded by the depending skirt portion of a cap 20, thus effecting aguard over the open upper end of the tube. A lever 21 includes aninternally threaded boss portion 22 which is threadedly engaged on thethreaded upper exremity 19 of the tube 13 below the cap 20 and has a setscrew 23 associated therewith for selective blocking engagement againstthe tube 18 to prevent rotation of the tube with respect to the lever21. The handle 24 of the lever projects radially from the tube 18 andextends through an anchor member 25 rigidly affixed to the upper side ofthe base plate 14, thus preventing relative movement between the lever21 and the base plate. The purpose of the lever is to permit the tube 18to be rotated to vary the pattern of the spray head unit indicatedgenerally by the reference character 26 which is carried at the lowerend of the tube 18. This adjustment is described in detail hereinafter.

The base plate 14 also serves as a mount for a motor indicated generallyby the reference character 27 which, in the particular instance shown,is an electric motor mounted with its driving shaft vertically disposedand projecting upwardly out of the motor casing, such drive shaft beingindicated by the reference character 28. The drive shaft has attachedthereto a driving pinion indicated by the reference character 29, whichis in mesh with a spur gear 30 having a hub 31 received on the upper endof a pipe 32 and rigidly fixed thereto by means of a set screw 33carried by the hub and engaged against the surface of the pipe 32.

The pipe 3-2 extends concentrically through the tube 18 and isjournalled therewithin by means of a pair of roller bearings or ballbearings 34 and 35 which also serve to locate the pipe 32 axially withrespect to the tube 18. The cap 20, previously mentioned, surrounds thepipe 32 as shown in FIG. 2, and the upper extremity of the pipe isconnected through a suitable swivel coupling 36 to a flexible conduit 37which leads to a source of water under pressure.

The swivel coupling 36 is preferably of conventional or standard designsuch as are readily available. Such joints in general consist of a cup38 fitting over the upper open end of the pipe 32 and having a radialannular flange 39 as shown. The pipe 32 is provided with an annulargroove 49 immediately below the flange 39 and a pair of C-shaped plates41 and 42, see particularly FIG. 4, have their inner edges received insuch groove, the plates 41 and 42 being secured as by fasteners "43 and44- to the underside of the flange 39. Thus, the swivel 36 permitsthepipe 32 to rotate relative thereto.

The lower extremity of the tube 18 carries a ring gear 45 whose hub 46is recessed as at 47 to receive the lower extremity of the tube andthere being a set screw 48 serving to secure the ring gear to the tubeand prevent rotation of the ring gear relative to the tube 13. Thecentral portion 49 of the ring gear 45; is provided with an openinglarger than the pipe 32 and through which opening the lower extremity ofthe pipe projects. This opening receives a suitable grease or oil sealSt to retain lubricating medium within the confines of the tube 18 andprevent it leaking out the lower end of the assembly, and toprevent theadmission of cleaning solution or other contaminants into the bearings34- and 35.

That portion of the pipe 32 which projects through the ring gear 45 isprovided with a transverse bore through which is fitted a branch pipe51, such branch pipe being welded thereto as indicated by the referencecharacters 52 and 53. The branch pipe is provided with a blind bore 54closed at its open end by the plug 55, and with transverse bores 56 and57 which communicate with the interior-of the pipe 32. Thus, the end 52!of thebranch. pipe, which is remote from the pipe 32, is solid andterminates in a reduced end portion 59 having external threads 60receiving a nut 61 and conical spacer 62 which bears against one side ofa thrust bearing 63 which is on the branch pipe portion 58.

The spray head 26 consists of a hollow body including opposite circularend plates 64 and 65 sandwiching therebetween a cylindrical portion orbody element 66 and providing a chamber therewithin. The cylindricalportion 66 is provided with a plurality of radially extending bores intowhich are fitted jet nozzles 67 and 68 for example. The spray head 26 isjournalled on the branch pipe and is free to rotate relative thereto,the body plate 64 bearing against the opposite side of the thrustbearing 63 throughthe medium of the spacing collar or hub 70.

A pinion 71 is also journalledon the branch pipe and has its hub portion72 welded as at 73 to the spray head body plate 65 so that the pinionand spray head rotate as a unit on the branch pipe 51.

In operation, the base plate 14 is clamped onto the dome in the mannershown in FIG. 1, with the spray head thus being disposed within theinterior of the tank car body. The electric motor 27 is energized whichwill rotate the pipe 32 and thus cause the branch pipe 51 to turntherewith. However, since the pinion 71, which is rigid with the sprayhead 26 and meshes with the fixed ring gear 45, causes rotation of thespray head, the spray head also rotates so that a compound movement ofthe spray head is effected. That is to say. the spray headsimultaneously rotates about the axis of the branch pipe 51 and swingsaround the axis of the main pipe 32. This compound movement causes thewater discharged from the various jets 67 and 68 to be impinged all overthe interior area of the tank car to thoroughly wash and cleanse thesame.

The branch pipe 51 is provided with openings, such as those indicated bythe reference characters 80 and 81 communicating the bore of-the branchpipe with the interior of the spray head.

The purpose of the lever 21 is to permit the pattern 4 effected by thespray head 26 to be altered so that all of the interior of the tank orcontainer with which the assembly is used may properly be cleaned. Inthls connection, it will be noted that the pattern of spray cover- I ageeffected by the spray head 26 is determined by the ratio of the motordrive pinion 29-to the pipe-drive gear 30 and by the ratio of the lowerstationary gear 45 to the pinion gear 71. These ratios, being fixed,determine the number of revolutions 'that'the spray head will turn aboutthe axis of tube 18 before the fixed pattern of the spray head willrepeat itself. In order that the pattern may be made to cover the wholeof the interior of the tank or container, lever 21 can be moved slightlyto correspondingly rotate the tube 18 and, consequently, displace thespray pattern a predetermined amount. In other words, it will beappreciated that were the number of teeth on the gear 45 an evenmultiple of the number of teeth on the gear 71, the spray head 26 wouldassume the same position upon each revolution of the tube 32. However,if the number of teeth on the gear 45 is not divisible by a whole numberby the teeth on the gear 71, the angular dispositions of the spray headnozzles 67, 68 will be altered upon each revolution of the tube 32 untilthey complete one cycle of operation and return to the initial positionfrom which they started. This pattern, however, is fixed and thepatterns can be infinitely varied by slightly moving the lever 21 and,consequently, thetube 18. To this'end, the bracket 25 permits of slightangular adjustment of the tube 18 about its axis, the adjustment beingheld by the thumb screw S once having been made.

While the foregoing description of the invention has been directed totheinvention as applied to a railway tank car, it will be understoodthat the invention may effectively be used for the cleaning of any largetanks 7 or containers and that accordingly the illustration anddescription of the same in'association with a. tank car is by way ofexample only, as'in'dicated in the first paragraph of column 1, lines7-10.

I claim:

1. A tank cleaning assembly comprising a base plate adapted to rest uponand be secured to 'and over an opening in the tank, a tube mounted onsaid base plate and depending therefrom for extension into the tank, apipe concentrically disposed within said tube and join-nailedtherewithin and extending at its extremities beyond the oppositeextremities of said tube, a motor mounted on said base plate, meansconnecting said motor and the upper extremity of said pipe for rotatingthe'pipe in response to operation of said motor, a branchpipe fixed tothe lower extremity of said pipe and projecting laterally therefrom, aspray head journalled adjacent the free end of said branch pipe andbeing in communication, through said branch pipe, with said pipe, theupper extremity of said pipe being adapted for connection to a source ofwater under pressure, means connecting the lower extremity of said tubeand said spray head for causing rotation of said spray head about theaxis of said branch pipe as said pipe is rotated about its axis by themotor, and means for selectively altering the rotational position ofsaid tube relative to said base plate so as to alter the spray patternof said spray head.

2. A tank cleaning assembly comprising a base plate adapted to rest uponand be secured to and over an opening in the tank, a tube mounted onsaid base plate and depending therefrom for extension into'the tank, apipe concentrically disposed Within said tube and journalledthereW-ithin and extending at its extremities beyond the oppositeextremities of said tube, a motor mounted on said base plate, means..connecting said motor and thetupperextremity of saidpipe for rotating"the pipe in response to operation of said motor, .a branch pipe fixedto thelower extremity of said pipe and projecting laterally therefrom, aspray head journalled adjacent the free end of said branch pipe andbeing in communication, through said branch pipe, with said pipe, theupper extremity of said pipe being adapted for connection to a source ofwater under pressure, means connecting the lower extremity of said tubeand said spray head for causing rotation of said spray head about theaxis of said branch pipe as said pipe is rotated about its axis by themotor, means for selectively altering the rotational position of saidtube relative to said base plate so as to alter the spray pattern ofsaid spray head, the last mentioned means including a positioning leversurrounding the upper extremity of said tube and extending radiallytherefrom, means on said base plate for fixing said lever thereto, andmeans on said lever engaging said tube preventing rotation of said tuberelative to the lever.

3. Cleaning apparatus for tanks comprising a base plate adapted to bepositioned upon and secured to a tank over an opening in the tank, atube mounted on said base plate and depending therefrom for extensioninto the tank, a pipe journalled concentrically within said tube andextending beyond the opposite ends thereof, a motor mounted on said baseplate and having means drivingly connecting the motor with said pipe forrotation of the pipe in response to operation of said motor, a branchpipe fixed to the lower extremity of said pipe and extending laterallytherefrom, a spray head journalled on said branch pipe adjacent the freeend thereof, a pinion journalled on said branch pipe and connected tosaid spray head, a ring gear fixed to the lower end of said tube meshingwith said pinion whereby the spray head is rotated about the axis ofsaid branch pipe as said pipe is rotated about its own axis, and meansfor selectively altering the rotational position of said tube relativeto said base plate so as to alter the spray pattern of said spray head.

4. Cleaning apparatus for tanks comprising a base plate adapted to bepositioned upon and secured to a tank over an opening in the tank, atube mounted on said base plate and depending therefrom for extensioninto the tank, a pipe journalled concentrically within said tube andextending beyond the opposite ends thereof, a motor mounted on said baseplate and having means drivingly connecting the motor with said pipe forrotation of the pipe in response to operation of said motor, a branchpipe fixed to the lower extremity of said pipe and extending laterallytherefrom, a spray head journalled on said branch pipe adjacent the freeend thereof, a pinion journalled on said branch pipe and connected tosaid spray head, a ring gear fixed to the lower end of said tube meshingwith said pinion whereby the spray head is rotated about the axis ofsaid branch pipe as said pipe is rotated about its own axis, and apositioning lever surrounding the upper extremity of said tube andextending radially therefrom, means on said base plate for fixing saidlever thereto, and means on said lever engaging said tube preventingrotation of said tube relative to the lever.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,557,240 Butterworth Oct. 13, 1925 2,045,752 Butter-worth June 30, 19362,109,075 Ruth Feb. 22, 1938 2,116,935 Richard May 10, 1938 2,586,398Vars Feb. 19, 1952 2,714,080 Kennedy July 26, 1955

